


Friday nights and chess games

by Arwen88



Series: I won't say I'm in love [1]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Starfleet Academy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-17
Updated: 2018-01-17
Packaged: 2019-03-06 02:13:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13401291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arwen88/pseuds/Arwen88
Summary: Pike took Jim under his protective wing since the two of them met in Iowa and if the man thought he would have to pressure him into studying he soon understands that's not needed. Jim is an exemplary student, except that he sleeps in the library on friday nights. Christopher is worried and he finally starts to asks questions and gets to know the boy.





	Friday nights and chess games

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic on Star Trek so I hope it turns out alright. English is not my first language so even if the amazing yuppu proofread it all mistakes are mine, sorry.  
> Written for the Cow-T challenge, first week ("ceremony" prompt), and the Maritombola of LDF (prompt 83 "Disney references").  
> The quote "Look at you! Glowing like a solar fire. You're something special, Jim. You're gonna rattle the stars, you are!" is from John Silver's speech in Treasure Planet.

It was the anniversary of the Kelvin and every officer in Starfleet was supposed to be present at the ceremony in San Francisco, alongside Winona Kirk and her two kids. As a matter of fact Winona had been absent from it more than she had ever taken part in it, with regard to the kids of the late hero, they hadn't been there since the youngest - the famous baby born while his father was busy saving the rest of the crew and his wife - was five. The command thought that year was bound to be different since the young James Kirk was enlisted in the academy but the boy had yet to show his face. Soon Captain Pike got approached by more than one admiral asking him where he thought Kirk could be and if he was going to appear. Even if he had hoped Jim would go to the ceremony Pike had to remind himself more than once that the cadet had never confirmed his presence and it was probably his fault for not asking clearly. As his supervisor obviously everybody thought he should have known what the cadet was doing that particular day. Christopher tightened the grip on his hat but kept silent except to say that he simply didn't know, annoyed with the admirals that thought he should have asked the student for his schedule and with the whole command for assuming that Jim would rather be there smiling politely in front of the flashing cameras than being clearly anywhere else.  
When the umpteenth official asked him where Jim was Christopher didn't hold back anymore and looked at the man with all his annoyance clearly showing on his face.  
"Kirk is probably studying for the incoming exams, as I said to more than one colleague. He hasn't been at the ceremony in more than ten years, I'm not even sure why they thought he would suddenly be fond of showing up here."  
The man snorted rather inelegantly, clearly not believing a word he said.  
"Studying, sure. I bet he's running after some skirt like his reputation suggests."  
Christopher felt the irritation spike and leveled the man with a hard stare. "He didn't achieve his top grades by not studying. But even if he were not hitting the books today I can't really fault him. It's a celebratory day for everybody, no lessons, no club activities, no exams, and it's extended to him same way as it's for the rest of the student body."  
Truth was that Christopher had believed he himself that Jim would have been there that time and he was now kind of pissed off not only with the whole Starfleet but also with himself and especially the boy. As soon as he was able to leave the celebration he went straight to the dorm looking for Jim, if necessary to scold him but more than anything else to make sure the day hadn't brought back his bad behaviour. After all the work he had put into being the top of his class and cutting off with the alcohol and fights Christopher was sincerely worried he would throw it all out the window and get himself back in troubles.

The first time they met Jim was sprawled over a dirty table in a forgotten bar in Iowa that had cadets inside only because the academy had thought to send them to visit the shipyard where the new Enterprise was in construction as a reward for their good grades and the shuttle would take off only the next morning.  
Christopher had stopped the fight inside and the blonde civilian kid from being probably almost killed by enraged cadets and then imprisoned for disturbance but he had no idea who he was, not at the start, not until the boy rolled on his belly and Christopher was able to really see his face. Sure, he knew that the academy would have loved to have the young Kirk in their ranks just because of the legacy behind his name, but the only thing Christopher could really think about was the sequence of aptitude tests the boy had sent over the years to Starfleet, his results way off the charts. He had memorized those tests, hoping Kirk would keep holding tight onto the dream of becoming entering Starfleet till he was older enough to enlist. Christopher was sure any person able to answer the way he did would have been a great addition to his crew. Unfortunately in the last years Jim had stopped submitting any form to Starfleet - not that Christopher had any idea of the reason why.  
Be as it may, the man thought it was a stroke of luck to finally personally meet the boy and have a chance to persuade him again to enlist.  
Jim had been more than hard to convince not only to enlist but even to listen to him, set on his idea of showing off to the world he had nothing to do with Starfleet. Even if it meant ruining his own life and staying in a place that had nothing in store for him.

The academic year started strangely well: Christopher was so sure Jim would have had problems at conforming to the rules and getting back his head on the books that he asked personally of being his supervisor. Instead the boy surprised him taking to the books like a fish to water even after years of being bored by the school system and anything anyone would try to get him interested to. Christopher had been worried he would grow stir-crazy and restless, bored and difficult to manage. He was worried he wouldn't cease with the fights and the booze consumption. He had many hopes for Jim but at the same time the first weeks he was also kind of waiting for Jim to go look for him and have the need for a good pep talk. So he prepared a nice list of reasons for enduring the academy - one or two points were about the work Christopher himself had had to put behind the enlistment of a seventeen years old - and become the commanding officer Jim had dreamed to be since he was but a kid. Instead the time was passing without any complain from the cadet or his teachers. Christopher told Jim he wanted to see him at least one hour per week in his office to discuss his study plan and the upcoming tests he had to take and what classes and labs he could frequent without overlappings and having enough time to actually study, eat and sleep.  
If he expected Jim to complain about the workload he had chosen himself in order to complete the academy faster than the others he was left dumbfounded at the calm and relax with which Jim was facing the matter. The boy was perfectly confident in himself and seemed to be really enthusiast of the classes he was taking and Christopher just had to give him a couple suggestions about what to look for the one assignment.  
Those meetings left Christopher with a strange and unexpected feeling of satisfaction and maybe a touch of pride for the boy he had managed to recruit.  
It took him a whole month to notice the firsts signs that maybe not everything was peachy. It started with the bags under Jim's eyes and Christopher looked him much more closely the next week. When it became clear that Jim wasn't sleeping enough - Christopher tried to meet him somehow even during the week, bumping into him after classes and the eye circles were always there, even worse with the passing of time - Christopher decided to confront him about it.  
"Tell me, are you spending your nights up for a good reason or are you out clubbing the same way you were before I picked you up in Iowa?"  
Jim snorted at his question and behind the exhaustion and the focus he had over the notes he was still copying some of his attitude resurfaced, managing at least to calm Christopher a bit down.  
"If only I had the time." The boy rolled his eyes, without even adding a "sir" at the end.  
Christopher let it slide for once, kind of reassured about his conduct but more worried about his health. "Are you having sleeping problems? Or are you not eating well?"  
Jim seemed to hesitate for a moment, raising his eyes from his notes to fix his glance on the captain in front of him. Still he didn't seem too much inclined to answer the question and Christopher tried to mellow his tone.  
"You know, you're young, even if it would be preferable if you didn't spend all your time just having fun around a bit of relax it's healthy. What are you doing to distract yourself when you're not studying?"  
Jim actually laughed at that, a nervous thing that gave Christopher pause. "How am I supposed to have the time to relax?"  
"Well, surely during the weekend..."  
"Oh. Well, yes. I've been volunteering in the science labs for a couple projects during the weekends. They need someone to check on the experiments while everybody else is gone."  
Christopher started to see where the problem was and after a couple more questions he was actually worried of how much time the first year cadet was spending studying and only studying. He stepped in and more or less forced Jim to keep at least one sunday free per month with the warning that if he didn't at least try to sleep more he would personally contact the labs to tell them not to let him work there. Jim actually whined and for a brief moment he seriously evaluated how much satisfaction he could get at throwing his padd at his supervisor against the troubles he would get into.  
Christopher wasn't really sure the boy would listen to him so he made some calls anyway but when the next week Jim appeared at least slightly more energetic than before he counted it a small victory, still hoping the boy would find his balance and get to the end of the semester without a breakdown.

Christopher was rather annoyed when one late friday night the library called him because of Jim. Apparently the boy was there sleeping instead of picking up all his books and going to bed in his own room. Christopher considered himself a patient man but at the thought of the boy neglecting his sleeping schedule he felt really annoyed after the time spent asking him if everything was alright and why did he look more tired the more time he spent at the academy. He wasn't even sure why they called him. Surely he was Jim's supervisor but why didn't they just wake him up and sent him away? When he asked that to the woman on the other side of the call his annoyance popped liked a balloon, replaced by worry.  
"What do you mean he always sleeps there on Friday nights?" He asked, tone flat, before shaking his head and getting out of bed. "Nevermind, I'm coming."  
The library was open twenty four seven and he could remember a time were he too would have spent some restless nights there trying to preparare for some exams, but there was no sensible reason to spend every friday night in there unless there was some problem. The captain approached the sleeping student in silence, taking a moment to study the peacefulness of his face while he had his head laying on top of some manual or another.  
"Kirk? Jim?" Christopher shook one shoulder of the cadet, waking him up.  
Jim yawned, tired, but stopped mid motion at recognizing the man in front of him. Christopher wasn't really going to scold him, not in that moment, and instead grabbed a chair and sat down by his side.  
"Why don't you explain to me why are you sleeping here instead of your own bed? I suppose you do have one."  
Jim had a vaguely ashamed look on his face while he rubbed the cheek that had tried to glue itself to the page. "Uhm."  
"Listen, I didn't come here from the other side of campus so we could lie to each other or just to scold you. Don't think of me as your supervisor right now, I won't report you or anything. I'm worried. I want to know why the librarian told me you've been spending every friday night in here. Is something the matter? Is the workload too much? You don't have anything to prove to anybody, you don't have to do the whole course in three years-"  
Jim shook his head, raising one hand to interrupt him.  
"I'm- it's just my room. There's no way I can manage to sleep in there." He admitted even if reluctantly.  
"Why is that?"  
Jim frowned, staring at a point in the air between them for a couple moments before turning his eyes to him.  
"I'd prefer to deal with it by myself."  
"Nonsense. Whatever it is has been going on for too long, it's time to tell someone, you can't keep everything to yourself." Christopher shook his head.  
Jim seemed to consider it, a stubborn look in his eyes, but in the end he exhaled and tiredly nodded.  
"It's my roommate. He keeps throwing parties, every friday night. Sometimes other days too. I can't sleep if my room is filled with people." He shrugged. "I tried asking him not to, but he's older than me and said-" He sighed, waving a hand. "Well, you know the regulation about respecting older cadets, and even though throwing parties inside the dorm is against the rules nobody wants to do anything."  
Christopher listened with his lips pressed in a thin line, pissed off at a cadet who chose and picked the rules he preferred to his advantage. He had half a mind to report him himself but it was clear Jim didn't want to tell on him. Not that finding out by himself who Jim's roommate was wouldn't have been difficult.  
"So the reason you don't sleep enough is because of him? And you never thought about telling me in spite of the number of times I did ask you?"  
Jim sighed and rolled his head working a crick in his neck. "Not really what I think the regulations mean when they say that problems between cadets should be dealt with between ourselves."  
Christopher actually rolled his eyes at that, fully knowing it was a way to make them take responsibility for themselves but it was too often used by bullies to trample on younger cadets. He thought about it for a couple seconds before getting to his feet.  
"Let's go, you can stay at my place."  
Jim stared at him floored, not even sure if he was joking or not.  
"What? Sir." He added in a hurry, his voice suddenly hoarse.  
"I have a couch in my apartment. It's way better than leaving you to sleep on a desk. Come on, pick up your padds. And that book. Where did you find a paper book anyway?" He asked, noticing the oddity only in that moment.  
"Oh. It's a hobby of mine." Jim smirked slightly, hurrying to pick up all the scattered padds and his book to follow his supervisor. "I collect them."  
"You collect paper books?" Christopher asked with a soft smile, slowly shaking his head while leading him outside the library and up the path outside. “Which other hobbies do you have? And mind you, I’m happy you’re finally taking the time to do something beside studying. I can’t even believe I’m saying it, but you were going to crash and burn at that pace.”  
Jim snorted but there was a smile on his lips. “Well, I’m kinda forced to spend time on something else since you called the labs and told them not to keep me there every weekend.”  
Christopher sighed heavily, exasperated. “So you really tried to go against my order?”  
“Nah, I was just trying to see if there was a hole where I could pass through. I was just curious.” The boy laughed passing his fingers through his hair.  
“Tell me about your hobbies before I decide to leave you to sleep on a bench outside.” The captain joked with half a smile, truly paying attention for the first time to the fact that he didn’t know much about Jim aside for his academic plan and grades. And the criminal record too. Not that it was strange between professors and students, but he also kind of sensed that probably the boy had no one or very few people he could talk to just to have some kind of conversation outside of school.  
“Well. I’m good at computers. And I play chess.”  
Christopher turned to look at him, surprised. “Do you, now?”  
“Yes, sir.” Jim smirked.  
“I play chess too.” The captain informed him, a bit curious of finding out what his style could have been on a chessboard. There was a lot a person could get to know about another by the way said person would play chess and suddenly he was more than a little curious about Jim’s ability in the game. “We could have a match one time or another, maybe.”  
Even if he had told Jim he could drop by his house whenever he wasn't able to sleep in his own bed, Christopher didn't really think at the time that he would find the kid on his doorstep back again after only two nights.  
It wasn't that Jim was bothering him or anything, it was just that with the surprise came the worry that something was wrong.  
"Did something happen?"  
Jim shuffled in front of him. "You said to come if I couldn't sleep in my room. Sir." The boy reminded him, slightly embarrassed.  
Christopher moved aside to let him inside. "Well, yes- yeah, sure, get inside." He nodded and suddenly decided to look into who it was that Jim was sharing the room with, the sooner the better.  
Jim gave him a nod and went straight to the couch he had occupied before, starting to take out of his bag numerous padds apparently to keep studying.  
Christopher watched him for several moments before going to sit on his armchair and grabbing his own padd, letting the boy resume his study while he skimmed the Starfleet computer looking for answers Jim was reluctant in giving.  
The man narrowed his eyes at seeing the name Finnegan since it reminded him of something he couldn't really place. Until he tapped on his profile and finally in front of his personal informations he was able to place the cadet as the son of one of the admirals. Christopher shook his head, finally understanding why the boy felt he was free to do whatever he wanted. And also the reason why nobody seemed kin in reporting him. Not that it would have probably made a difference.  
Christopher threw a glance at the kid he had took to San Francisco, his head bent over his assignments, and felt a pang of worry for what could have happened to him during the time of his next mission in space. Christopher was well aware that in one year at most he would have had to leave Earth with the Farragut, the ship assigned to him until the new Enterprise was ready. Now he couldn't stop but ask himself where the boy was going to spend his nights when he wasn't there to host him. Would he go back at sleeping in the library?  
He sighed, shaking his head, and decided to find a way to move his student in a different dorm room till he still had the chance to do something for him. Away from Finnegan and his father who had the same belief of being superior to others.  
After a moment Christopher went back at discreetly watching the cadet in his living room, asking himself why didn't he himself use his father’s name to get some favoritism. Then and there the realization hit him that it was really because Jim didn't want anything to do with his father name, that the whole core of the boy’s problem was that he wanted to show the world that he was a person on his own. He wasn't even sure how much Jim knew about his father, aside for the fact that the whole universe felt he was a hero and Jim was basically only his son. He hoped one day Jim would come to the point of not worrying about proving anything to anyone.  
Jim raised his head feeling his eyes on him and Christopher cracked a smile.  
"Are you hungry? I still haven't had dinner."  
Jim reciprocated his smile, kind of relieved. "As a matter of fact I am. Sir."  
"Drop the sir while you're here." Christopher shook his head putting away his padd on his way to the kitchen, unaware of starting that moment what would later become a routine between them.

Everything seemed to run smoothly at least for a couple months more: any time Finnegan would call for a party in their room, Jim would pack his padds and a change of clothes and go sleep at Christopher’s. The man found he enjoyed the company of the cadet even more than he would have hoped for and soon their nights became the occasion for playing chess chatting of everything and nothing. Christopher hadn't had had someone to whom he could talk freely for a long time, some of his colleagues coming close to it but not the way he seemed to click with Jim. It was kind of eerie as a matter of fact, seeing how many years they were apart, but the cadet had an elastic and ready mind able to follow every topic Christopher would throw at him. They started playing chess even in his office at their weekly meeting after finishing dealing with Jim's assignments and doubts on lessons and tests. They would meet to Christopher mostly during the weekend and the captain will show off his culinary skills cooking something without the help of replicators.  
Jim let it slip one of those evenings that he had learned how to use a replicator in his first years and then learned how to fix it since it was the only way for him and his brother to eat. Christopher started finding out little details about Jim and his life before the academy and the more Jim shared, the more he himself showed the cadet his trust reciprocating with details of his. Winona Kirk was simply not there - Christopher had known that since her job record was public and the dates of her missions away from Earth showed clearly she had been more in space than on the planet since Jim had been able to start school and she had remarried to a man able to stay behind and take care of her kids. Not that Jim's stepfather looked to Christopher like a person he would entrust even just with a cactus let alone a couple kids from the vibes Jim emitted when talking about those years at home.  
The boy never shared anything about his adolescence even if Christopher had been most curious by the sudden drop of interest for Starfleet Academy and at the same time the lack of criminal records. The captain decided not to press him for info, sure he would have said something the moment he felt ready to.  
Instead Christopher told Jim of the little house in the desert he had bought, the place where he felt most at home. He rarely went there, stuck in San Francisco because of the job or light years away on a ship, but it still was the place worth coming back to when he had enough free time - usually during school breaks or shore leaves. Jim kept silent, listening and just watching him talk about the desert and the sunsets, the feeling of sand under his feet, the sense of solitude that was a blessing after three years confined with the same people - no matter how much he liked those people - in the same space, day after day. Christopher loved his job and it was clear by the way he talked about his travels, the missions and the planets he had visited since he took service in Starfleet. Jim couldn't help but smile listening to him, sharing the dream of navigating among stars and exploring the universe, discovering new planets and populations. They were kindred spirits and maybe - just maybe - Jim could have admitted that some of those conversations were cementing his resolve to endure the huge workload he had chosen so he could go through the stars as soon as possible.

Jim was so relaxed at studying, sleeping out of his room and generally ignoring Finnegan's very existence that he didn't even bat an eye anymore at knowing his room would be filled with drunken cadets and too much alcohol for a campus dorm. He just went to his room after a study session in the library with some classmates to get his change of clothes, his only thought the hamburgers Christopher had promised to cook that friday night. It all changed drastically when the door slid away to let him inside and the first thing Jim saw was a first year stand still in the middle of the room, a blindfold over his eyes and a bowl of sweets in top of his head. For a moment he didn't even understand what was happening till the cheering of the drunken cadets making room for the young cadet and Finnegan registered.  
"Piñata! Piñata!"  
"What-" Jim stared in disbelief as the scene in front of him unfolded too fast for him to have a say in it.  
Finnegan raised a bat, too drunk to even stand up straight, and laughing he struck the poor cadet right in his face. A pinched scream rose from those present at the sight of the blood and Jim suddenly throw himself inside the room, kneeling beside the guy bleeding on their floor.  
"Hey, Jimmy boy! You're back! Take a beer, he's alright..." Finnegan laughed.  
"Like hell." Jim growled trying to help the other stand up to take him to the infirmary.  
His evening completely forgotten, Jim took the other cadet to see the medics trying to somehow stop the blood running down his nose. Nobody asked anything when they went through the doors of the medical facility, apparently used to similar sights, and after a couple of instructions Jim helped the boy reach a free bed just as another guy way older than them wearing the insignia of the medicine students made his way towards them.  
"Let me guess, he slipped and opened a door with his face?" He mumbled, seemingly already pissed off and perfectly knowing there was probably something very different behind that injury with annessed huge bruise.  
"No, he has been struck with a freaking bat." Jim almost spat, gaining a surprised glance from the doctor.  
"Well, finally someone who tell things how they are. And I guess you're not the one who did this?"  
"No." Jim pressed his lips.  
"I don't- can't-" The poor boy tried to talk despite the blood covering his face and mouth and the medical student rolled his eyes with an impatient sigh.  
"Yeah, if I had a penny for every time a first year comes in and doesn't want to tell who put them in the hospital bed I'd be rich."  
Jim kept quiet for a total of three seconds before the words just escaped him. "You should tell on him. He's an asshole. Doesn't care about the academy or Starfleet or anybody else but himself. He's gonna do it again to somebody else."  
"That's for sure." The doctor mumbled under his breath while using the dermal regenerator.  
"Still, I can't tell on him." The cadet sighed, terribly pale. "He's older and-" He pressed his lips, not wanting to tell more.  
Jim took a deep breath and exchanged a look with the doctor, discovering that the two of them were somehow able to simply understand each other even though they had never met or talked before.  
"One of those rich boys, uh?" The man drawled, shaking his head. "I'll tell you what, cadet, I'm fixing you but things are the way this guy said: he's gonna do it again, to you or someone else. If they hit someone and don't even care about taking them to the E.R. they're clearly not sorry enough."  
"He has a name." Jim murmured, feeling full of rage and frustration at the thought Finnegan had hurt someone in front of him and that it was surely going to happen again who knew how many times. For long minutes Jim asked himself if that was really the kind of person Starfleet wanted on board of one of their ships where someone attitude was what kept people from losing their lives. Were the regulations in place to lead the cadets during their academy years or to protect some bullies from being reported?

After a long week at work Christopher was finally relaxing at home, the only things in his mind the dinner he was about to get ready and the chess match against Jim that awaited for him later in the evening. When the control above the door chimed in that a visitor asked permission to come in Christopher left the kitchen to go open the door already assuming it was the young cadet ready to stay over.  
He almost stopped breathing for a moment at the sight of a pale Jim with his uniform blood stained.  
"What happened?" He asked in a brisk tone, assessing the boy for wounds.  
Jim raised his eyes on him and they were full of a rage that Christopher had rarely seen. He took a step back to let Jim in, relaxing slightly at seeing he was not hurt. That posed the question of where that blood came from.  
He didn't even have to ask, Jim took a couple deep breaths before turning to face him, clenching and unclenching his fists in an attempt of calming down and not raise his voice.  
"I don't get anymore why they gave us rules that put us in trouble every single time we follow them. Aren’t they supposed to help us while in the academy and later in life as officials? Then why are we supposed to keep our heads down and follow a system that doesn't do anything to penalize those who use their position to hurt and stomp on everybody else? Why is nobody doing something to stop those dickheads that think they own the academy because they've been here longer than you? And it's not even just a problem between cadets, there are instructors disregarding people in their classes or subtly asking cadets for things they are not even supposed to mention, there are cadets using their friendships with admirals, captains, even dead people, to get a pass when they are caught cheating during tests or when they "forget" to deliver assignments on time. There are some stranded on Earth alone like me while their parents soar through the stars forgetting they have fucking sons here waiting for them to come back. Why does Starfleet let them do that? Aren't they supposed to check on the welfare of their official's families to see if everything is alright? You and me both know that the rules about not calling for help when you have a problem that you can manage by yourself goes along with the one where officials are not supposed to intervene when they find a troublesome situation that they believe - no, that Starfleet Command believe can be resolved between the parties already involved. And that's stupid and it sucks. We're supposed to go out there to save people but if we see a population in the verge of war or a famine we're not supposed to intervene, why are we even out there?"  
Christopher listened intently to his words and when Jim paused to take a breath, he kept silent for a moment more, looking at the cadet learn probably what was going to be the most important lesson in his career.  
"That's the reason I chose you in that bar in Iowa. Rules are a guideline but sometimes they are wrong. Sometimes you have to decide which rules to disregard. Sometimes it's worth deciding to gamble your career to do something good. Starfleet teaches all his cadets to follow those guidelines but a good captain is a person that can recognize that there is something more than that, that there is something between the lines. A captain that actually goes by the book and never strays from it will do worse to the universe than a common criminal." He said slowly, watching Jim in the eyes.  
"When are we supposed to learn when not to follow them then?" Jim asked in a whisper.  
"That's what experience is meant for, Jim. Later in your academy years some simulations will show you that sometimes you have to improvise. Sometimes, during the time you will have to spend on a ship, before being assigned some important duty you will see how things get done by people more experienced than you. It's an imperfect set of rules but they are not completely rotten either. You just need the key to read them right. It's not for everybody and that's why not everybody manages to become a captain, but you have it in you. That's why I brought you here, because I saw immediately that you're one of those who can manage to do great things once you know when to throw the book out the window and just jump."  
Jim watched him intently and when he was silent again the cadet raised his chin with a determined look in his eyes.  
"I will report Finnegan for what I saw him do tonight. Somebody has to do it. If the kid who got struck in the head isn't going to do it because of the rules or because he's scared Finnegan's father will have his head on a stick then I will do it, I don't even care if the admiral manages to kick me out of here. Somebody has to do something before he keeps doing it again and maybe one day somebody dies for his pranks and little games."  
Christopher couldn't have suppressed his smile even if he wanted to. He nodded, looking at Jim with a fond expression. "Look at you, glowing like a solar fire. You're something special, Jim. You're gonna rattle the stars, you are..."  
Hearing those words and seeing the pride in the man’s eyes, Jim didn’t know how to respond for once in his life. He felt the heat rise to his face and for a moment he looked at the captain as if he were seeing him for the first time before averting his eyes. The knot in his stomach seemed to be gone and Jim felt lighter than he had felt probably in years. Suddenly he hoped to be able to hold on tight to the pride of the man in front of him and never let him down.

As they both expected nothing came from the charges pressed by Jim against Finnegan. His father intervened, raised his voice, Christopher was called in front of Nogura to explain what was happening and why his cadet had pressed charges when not even the kid who Jim said got hurt had wanted to talk about it with his own supervisor.  
Christopher had to explain more than once what Jim had reported to him about Finnegan's behavior and what had finally prompted him to tell his superiors. The admiral made a snide remark about whining kids that left Christopher holding tight to his poker face so as not to show the man how much he wouldn't have wanted nothing more than deck him in his face.  
Nogura listened in silence at the two men defending their case, one talking about a cadet not caring about the academy and the rules whenever it fit him, the other about the reason some rules were in place and why Kirk should have been punished for trying to smear his son’s good name. In the end the man raised a hand and both of them fell silent. Jim wasn't going to face any charge for what he had done but neither was Finnegan - albeit a note was going on his profile - and Christopher had to actually fight for that so that his cadet would at least be relocated to another dorm room.  
That was the only victory for the day and Christopher left the Commander's office with a great deal of anger.  
Jim actually didn't even expect to have that and so he was able to crack half a smile at receiving the news. Christopher took a deep breath, trying to calm down, and watched Jim pack all his things to move out of the room while his supervisor awaited to receive communications about where cadet Kirk had been moved.  
It shouldn't have taken that long but somehow, between exchange students and a fire in another dorm, there seemed to be a shortage of unoccupied beds.  
Finally the padd chimed and Christopher read the mail that just arrived.  
"You are to move in with a med student: Leonard McCoy. He's older than you and already a second year but he's not sharing the room with anybody else."  
Jim nodded, throwing clothes in a bag, but he stopped after a moment. "It's not another guy whose roommate asked a transfer, right?"  
"No, it seems he was married and so had the chance to keep by himself. This year he changed the status into divorced so he's not entitled to be alone anymore." Christopher shrugged reading the info attached.  
Jim relaxed at that, even if he felt kind of sorry for the guy, and once he had packed everything, he moved out and into his new room.  
He made his way inside his new room when Leonard had just finished reading the mail where the academy communicated him that he was to have a new roommate. When Jim entered, Leonard turned to see who it was and suddenly they stared at each other, recognizing the guy from the night at the E.R..  
"Wait- it's you!"  
"I'll be damned."  
Jim beamed at him, suddenly taking a like to him. "Name is James, Jim for my friends." He presented himself, dropping his bag and boxes on the vacant bed.  
"McCoy." The man nodded slightly, trying to evaluate him.  
"No first name?" Jim smirked, leaving the new roommate kind of surprised.  
"Leonard." He murmured slowly, trying to understand if he was simply that open or if he was trying to flirt.  
It soon became clear that it was simply Jim's way of approaching people and before the sun was down, Leonard was grumbling because of the new nickname Jim had given him, but he had also decided that they could become friends. He thought the kid was clearly in need of someone responsible in his life, someone who would check he wasn't going to die just for some peanut butter or strawberries or some other stupid allergy.

"How are things going with your new roommate?" Christopher asked Jim the next time they met in his office for the weekly hour cadet/supervisor.  
Jim laughed softly while opening his bag to take out his padd. "Fine. We spent half the lunch break discussing about peanut butter."  
"Peanut butter?"  
"Yeah. Well, I'm allergic to it, right? So I said that I could, technically, eat it. I'll just have to bring along an epi pen so I have the time to let him work on keeping me alive." He reported the story shaking his head with an amused smile. "And he kept grumbling and saying "don't you dare" and threatening of leaving me to die even if we both know he wouldn’t."  
Christopher stared at him for long seconds, until Jim raised his head to see what the matter was.  
"What?"  
"I'm really happy you found a friend in your new roommate. I will also let him know that if you do something that stupid and he lets you die, you had it coming and I won't fault him for it." He explained calmly, and Jim laughed out loud finally feeling at the right place in the academy.  
Christopher was really happy for him and after all those months worrying about the chance of Jim sleeping on a bench while he would have been inevitably gone into space, he thought he would finally stop. He actually did stop worrying but after a couple weeks from the transfer, Christopher started noticing that not everything was alright. At least not for him, this time. It started with little things like the thought of what he could cook for dinner that friday and the sudden realization that Jim wouldn't probably go to him. Then there was the silence that friday and the chess set still ready at the last move they had done more than one week before. It had been always the two of them together every friday night at that point for so long that Christopher felt kind of alone but at the same time not willing to get out the house and find something to do. He tried spending the whole weekend taking advantage of the lack of distractions to revise more assignments from his students and get ahead with the work.  
He and Jim met again only during their scheduled hour in Pike's office and Christopher felt kind of silly for being clearly the only one concerned with the change in routine while the boy sitting in front of him was completely taken by the fresh friendship and the upcoming exam session.  
After another weekend by himself, when he had at least got out the house to go listen at a conference, Christopher took a decision, even if it felt stupid and he thought that nobody better understand how much the boy’s company had come to mean to him or he was roasted.  
He actually made an effort to meet the cadet after classes, pretending to be walking on that floor by chance while mentally berating himself for a behavior worthy of a twelve year old.  
"Kirk." He greeted the cadet as they were crossing paths and Jim raised his head in time to see him and stop, saluting the man.  
"Sir."  
"How are you? Is your roommate still decent?" Christopher asked stopping in front of him.  
"I'm fine, sir." Jim nodded, without any thought of the next class awaiting him. "And Bones is actually a nice person."  
"Bones?"  
"McCoy. That's how I took to call him." The boy smirked.  
"Oh well, if he likes it."  
"Not even a bit." Jim laughed softly. "But he's okay. Grumpy to no end, but for the first time I don't have to worry about an inspection and being thrown out because the place is a mess. Also no parties. He has a daughter, you know. He seems to be a great father from what I've heard."  
Christopher nodded slowly with a soft smile on his lips. He was happy to hear Jim so relaxed and finally happy with his situation. Also it was clear the two cadets had hit it off and were really becoming friends by the way Jim kept talking about him. It would have been perfectly good, if only Christopher wasn't feeling knots forming in his stomach at the thought that the boy wouldn't need him anymore. He thought it was stupid and even a bit pathetic that he really wanted to spend more time with a guy less than half his age but during those months they had seemed to be comfortable with each other and it was more than Christopher could say of most of his colleagues.  
"I'm glad you're alright in there. We should resume our last chess game one time or another." He smiled with a slight nod of his head. "Unless you played just to make sure you could have a pillow." He laughed a bit, mentally slapping himself for how bad that sounded. Only years of service and use of his stoic face prevented him from showing exactly how ashamed he was of how that sounded.  
At his words Jim seemed to unconsciously lean slightly towards him. "Truth be told, I would have liked to come this friday- I mean it's great to be around Bones, he's funny and everything, but I kind of got used to our late games." He said, omitting the fact that he also had missed staying the night at his house for no other reason than spending time together. "I wasn't sure though you would have appreciated me dropping by without a good reason."  
Christopher almost laughed, suddenly feeling way better. "You can drop by whenever you want, Jim." He smiled at the boy who was reciprocating him, clearly happy.  
"Alright then. This friday night? Or am I ruining your plans, sir?"  
"Only plan I had was to play chess against someone, either you or another student of mine."  
"Then it's gonna be me, sir. I gotta go, next class..." Jim smiled starting to walk backward to go to the next class.  
"Go." Christopher shook his head with a fond smile, standing there where he was for a moment more while Jim made his way to another hallway. Then he took a deep breath, trying to metabolize what had just happened.  
"What even is dignity? Something you eat?" He mumbled under his breath, still shaking his head as he slowly walked toward his office.  
A part of him felt way better with the knowledge they were going to salvage their routine, another part of him felt a slight discomfort at how much he had come to care about their nights together.

When Jim went to his apartment a couple days after, both of them felt considerably lighter at going back at dining together, talking about everything that came to their mind. When after dinner they resumed their match it didn't take long for Christopher to win and Jim jokingly complained that it was unfair because he had a lot of time to prepare.  
"We can always have a rematch."  
"Deal." Jim nodded a touch too eagerly, setting up the chessboard again.  
Christopher watched him with half a smile, enjoying their game even if playing against Jim meant always keeping his focus up because the kid was too damn smart and could find unsuspecting ways to get to his pieces and call for checkmate.  
"Sometimes I think you move at random until you get me lost behind non existent strategies." He shook his head when Jim won the second match.  
Jim was particularly cheerful at that point and laughed a bit while helping him put away the pieces. "Don't blame me if I'm just too smart for you."  
"Oh I don't." Christopher gave him a look albeit an amused one.  
Suddenly they noticed the hour and even if reluctantly Jim started to pick up his things.  
"Why don't you stay?"  
The question was out before Christopher could think too much about it and Jim hesitated for a moment, looking at him as if to make sure he heard him correctly.  
"I mean, it's late to be crossing campus to get to your dorm and you're already fairly acquainted with the couch." He shrugged, masking how much he hoped the cadet would accept his offer.  
"If you keep me, I'll stay." Jim puffed a smile.  
In reply the man just nodded with his chin towards the closet. "You know where the blankets are. And maybe we can go with two out of three now?" He smirked.  
"Ah! I knew there was a catch somewhere!" Jim joked setting once again the chessboard, trying to cover how glad he was for the offer to stay even if there was actually a room waiting for him somewhere else.

When Jim came back to his room well into morning he found Bones studying at his desk. He didn't thought too much about it and went straight to get a shower so he could get back to his padds too. When he came back, Bones raised his head from his manuals and shook his head with half a smirk.  
"I swear I don't get how you can keep your grades up spending all that time shagging around."  
Jim snorted. "I don't know what you're talking about."  
"Oh, please, everybody knows you have like a couple girls a week, even more. I've heard it in the mess hall. Someone was saying that you always disappear in the weekend. I must say, I kind of envy you. If only I wasn't neck deep into this and could spare some time..." He shook his head with a bit of regret.  
Jim kept silent for a moment because he was well aware of how his reputation was born as he would leave the dorm block every weekend to avoid Finnegan's party and then come back only after well after nine from Pike's place. Truth was that he didn't even want to tell how things were, worried of putting his instructor in trouble just because the man had wanted to help him out when no one else was there for him. Not that he would have complained if they really had spent the night having sex.  
He licked his lips at the sudden thought of the two of them spending those hours in a very different entertainment than a couple games of chess.  
"Well, I'm a lucky boy. And charming. So charming." He smirked instead of contradicting his friend. "What can I say if I just attract pretty people?"  
"Just don't forget the upcoming exam session." Leonard warned him.  
"I won't. And what if I were to tell you that I was away studying and playing chess?" He tried to throw in there, sitting on his bed with a couple padds.  
"Sure. On a friday night. Unless kids nowadays call it chess."  
"I'm an exemplary student. Maybe I was with some instructor."  
Leonard turned to look at him, half surprised and half impressed. "The xenolinguistics teacher?"  
"What- no. No, Bones, I didn't say I was screwing her- even if I have to admit that that could be awesome. No, I was just saying. Maybe it's not like it seems. Maybe I don't have time same as you."  
"Yeah, I noticed, kid."  
Seeing there was no way to make him change his mind after the rumors about him were kind of supported by his absence and not really wanting to clarify where exactly he had spent the night, he just let it go hoping it wouldn't come back to bite him in the ass.

Somehow that was just what happened during the Kelvin ceremony as his absence was met with more and more comments on his sexual life and how that was probably the reason he wasn't there. Having to bear all those little digs slowly wore Christopher down. Apparently, very few people thought that the cadet's business were his own.  
The last drop was when Finnegan's father himself approached Christopher to hint at Kirk's absence and what could have been the cause.  
"I've heard your cadet spends more time rolling around bedsheets than studying. Wonder why you even bother sticking your neck out for him. His father was a hero but I'm not so sure he is cut from the same cloth."  
Christopher pressed his lips as he leveled the admiral with a glacial glare. "Yes, I imagine you are very invested in my cadet's welfare. He is top of his class and I'm pretty sure he will show it in the next exam session, that's all I can ask him for and that's all the academy should care about." He saluted the man stiffly before walking away.  
He was angered by the whole situation and seeing that Jim was not there added to his bad mood. He couldn't care less about the rumors concerning the boy - he was even pretty sure that it was probably thanks to Finnegan and his father if they were making rounds - but he was worried that Jim could be drinking himself to death someplace thinking about his broken family and the disaster that they were celebrating.  
He had received the previous evening communications about his incoming departure just after the exams session and he was worried more than ever that without an invested supervisor by his side Jim could get back to the life he previously enjoyed before enlisting. He shook his head, mentally reassuring himself that Jim was really interested in making his way out the shadow of his name and he would have probably kept studying same as he had done during the lasts months.

Jim opened the door dressed in simple jeans and t-shirt, barefoot and with a bottle of beer in one hand, not even bothering to hide the alcohol he had brought in the dorm from his supervisor.  
Christopher was less than happy to notice the state he was in and Jim seemed to catch on pretty fast. Not that it changed anything in his behavior.  
"Captain Pike, sir. What can I do for you?"  
Christopher nodded with his chin towards the room behind the boy. "Can I come in so we don't have to talk in the hallway?"  
Jim took a step back and waved to show off the rest of the empty dorm room. "Be my guest, mi casa es su casa."  
Christopher entered and gave the place an acute glance, noticing the mess on Jim's side and the look the bed had, as if the boy had kept throwing himself on the covers over and over again since that night. Finally he turned his gaze to the boy that was watching him on his own, calmly sipping the beer as if it wasn't against the rules.  
"Let me guess, a lot of people were waiting for me to show up and smile and be proper. The proper son of the perfect hero."  
That was Jim's problem in itself: going against the rules whenever he felt the world wanted him to show them he would have followed them because he was the good boy, his father's son, the hero's kid.  
In silence Christopher took the bottle from his hand to put it on Jim's bedside.  
"You don't have to go the extra mile to show them you're different from him, Jim."  
Jim snorted, seeming at little too calm for a moment more before he let all his rage and frustration resurface. He knew he should have kept silent, swallowed the words, but suddenly there in his room in front of one of the only two persons who seemed to have ever cared about him he couldn't withstand it anymore.  
"People expect me to be better. Better of what, of whom? I'm a genius and so I'm supposed to be just better. I'm supposed to do something great, something the others wouldn’t even dream of, or at least that's what they say. I'm the son of a hero and so I'm supposed to be- what? The best captain Starfleet has ever had? I don't even know who the guy was aside for the record of his last talk with my mother right before dying. All I know of him comes from holos and books and some speech in the lecture all. Do you want to know who is the person which personally met him who told me more about him in my whole life? It was you, the first time we met. I had no idea about half the things you told me. My mother still loves him, more than both her children put together, but do you think she's ever been there to tell us what kind of man our father was? She packed her things and left so that she could go back where she was needed. She was needed at home!" He almost shouted.  
He knew he was being disrespectful to his superior officer but Christopher said nothing, didn't even look perturbed by his outburst. The man understood his need to finally take it all off his chest, to finally talk about it with someone who know the people involved and knew the subject.  
Jim just took a breath before continuing, irate. "But she couldn't stay earthbound, she had to go out there and pretend she and my father were just on different starships, that his ghost was still with her. Frank knew, he knew she didn't give a fuck about us and about coming back and that's why he felt so entitled to his behavior. Do you see her here today? Is someone asking about her? I checked the news and they're all spewing gossip about me not being there. I didn't ask for it!" He pointed at the window from which the humming of all the people reunited for the ceremony could reach them even so far away. "I didn't ask to be his son, or to be smart. Why do I have to celebrate the day my father died by standing in front of millions of people who just want a picture of the Kelvin's boy? I don't even want to be the Kelvin's boy!"  
He stood there, still steaming after his speech, and suddenly felt his stomach drop at the thought of it all being too much for Christopher, of that being the time when the man would turn his back on him because of him being too emotional.  
But Christopher took him by surprise.  
The man took a deep breath and simply nodded. "I understand what you're telling me, Jim. I know you're more than the legacy he left with his name. Soon the others will see that too, but they should see it because you can be your best, not because you don't want to be put in comparison with your father. I know it's a deep and big shadow but it's not a good reason to ruin all your efforts. Showing them a wreck so that they will stop having any prospect for you is not the right way to accomplish it."  
For the first time since he had set foot inside the room Jim searched for his eyes and in that moment, meeting those blue eyes, it suddenly hit Christopher that he was irremediably lost for the boy and there was probably nothing he could do to go back at when he was just one of his students, if he had ever been just that.  
At seeing the man in front of him still care about him, at seeing him ignore his disrespectful words and attitude because the content of his speech was way more important than the form with which he had delivered it, Jim felt his anger deflate.  
He let his shoulders drop with an heavy sigh.  
Christopher stood still, just watching him with that fond and sympathetic look that had Jim trying to do his best to impress him. After a couple seconds under that gaze Jim barely nodded in his direction.  
"Want to-" He stopped, not even sure of what he could ask his instructor after shouting in his face. He cringed, embarrassed at his own behavior, and instead of looking at the man he let his eyes roam the room.  
He wanted to ask the man if he wanted to keep him company, if he would have maybe liked a beer, but at the same time he didn't want the teacher to think he was asking that because he was trying to flirt, or because he wanted something more. He was pretty sure at that the captain would have surely turned tail on him. For once he grimaced at the thought of his own reputation and how difficult it was to actually ask someone to spend time with him alone without the risk of them thinking sex was involved. But that was Christopher and they had spent numerous nights sleeping under the same roof without anything happening and he trusted the man would understand that he just could want some company. Not that he wouldn't have appreciated something more, he had to admit, if only to himself.  
Looking at him Christopher seemed to perfectly understand what troubled the boy and puffed half a smile. It wasn't everyday one could see Jim Kirk not sure of what he wanted to ask or unsure in general. It was totally understandable to him anyway that the cadet wanted to tread carefully on those waters when it was too easy to slip up and change what it was between them.  
It was exactly what Jim feared since too many times Christopher had come close to be some kind of father figure and being seen like a son or a kid by the man was really not what he wished for.  
"What?" Christopher asked, trying to help him vocalize it.  
Jim just shrugged one shoulder. "I don't know. Maybe stay for the night? Even if it's way smaller than your place. But I have the beer." He smirked.  
"Which is illegal here." The man duly noted.  
"And my roommate is not here so if you want his bed is unoccupied." He went on as if he had never been interrupted.  
Christopher raise one eyebrow. "I don't think the doctor will appreciate me sleeping in his bed while he's not here."  
"Yeah but how are you going to check I don't choke?"  
"On what?"  
"Beer? Tears of my enemies?"  
Christopher actually smiled at that and softly shook his head. After a moment he decided to reciprocate the invitation and maybe make sure nobody would think they were doing something wrong.  
"Why don't we go to my apartment? I bet you didn't eat anything before drinking."  
"Oh, trust me, I can hold my liquor." Jim laughed softly, trying to put behind him the anger and the sadness of the day. "And I'm eighteen now."  
"I know." Christopher nodded, hesitating a moment before adding "happy birthday, Jim."  
Jim looked at him for a moment as if nothing made sense around him but then he threw his head back and laughed out loud.  
"You- you're the first to tell me that in a very long time." He explained trying to regain some control. "Not that the day has ever been very festive for my family, but you know... actually nobody ever thinks that this is also the day I'm born." He admitted with a crooked smile.  
"Well, I can't promise you a cake, but maybe I can whip up something sweet." Christopher smiled kindly at him and for the briefest moment all that Jim wanted was to close the distance between them and kiss him on the lips.  
Instead he just nodded and before the man could have a chance to read something on his face Jim turned his back on him to fetch his shoes and coat.  
"Sounds better than good, let's go."

Christopher had the time to think and shed some light on his feeling as he was busy trying to cook something with what he already had in his cupboard. He kept silent during the whole process leaving Jim to roam his apartment and put on a holo that he insisted he had always wanted to watch.  
It was clear at that point that somehow he had gone from being worried and invested in the boy's welfare to taking a liking to him, growing affectionate. Jim had been in the last months a friend - it was always easy for Christopher to forge friendships but growing up the way he did, always moving around the world with his mother, he had never managed to stay really close enough to someone to have someone he could rely on; Jim had managed to get as close to him as few other people had ever managed - and slowly he had become something more, at least to Christopher. He closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply in an attempt to calm down and rationalize his feelings.  
He didn't want to ruin the friendship he and Jim had forged, nor he wanted to actually try and pursue any kind of romantic relationship with the risk of jeopardizing whatever was between them and furthermore lose the cadet's trust. He was fine with things staying the way they were so that Jim could keep counting on him as a friend and teacher. Little did he know that at the same time, sprawled on his sofa, Jim was having more or less the same kind of thoughts, considering their friendship and what that meant to him, what he could lose at trying to approach Christopher to ask if one day, at some point, the man could perhaps start to reciprocate his feelings. He wasn't really sure he could even try to ask something like that without Christopher losing all respect for him.  
In the end Jim stood up with an heavy sigh and went looking for him.  
Christopher puffed a smile at sensing the boy behind his back, automatically relaxing. He turned slightly when Jim poked his head over the man's shoulder to look at what he was doing.  
"Smells amazing."  
"I really didn't have much so banana pancakes it is."  
"I love banana pancakes."  
"Do you?" He murmured with a fond smile and for a moment Jim tried to look at his face despite their positions.  
Silently he nodded questioning at the same time if he was projecting his feelings on the man.  
"Bet yours are better than the replicated ones."  
"I'm not really sure about it to be honest." He smiled self deprecatingly but actually hoping that Jim would really appreciate them since it was his small gift for his birthday.  
Jim waited impatiently for the pancakes to be on the table and there he leaned over his plate to inhale the good scent.  
"They smell really good."  
"Thanks." Christopher smiled before sipping at his coffee. "I'm sorry. I wish I could have done something to make this day a little better for you." He added after a moment.  
Jim cracked a smile and shook his head while sinking his fork into the pancakes. "You're keeping me company, you brought me out of my room and you're offering me dinner. It's already a better day than what I thought laid ahead this morning. It's a better birthday than the last one, actually. Or the one before that and so on back to never." He ate in silence for some time before throwing a glance at him across the table. "Will you be here for my next birthday?"  
"I don't know. I know I'm scheduled to board the Farragut with classes of cadets after this exam session is over, but we'll probably be back in four months so that they can take their next exams here at the academy. I don't know what lies beyond that."  
"What am I gonna do without you?"  
The question was made with half a smile but any intent on Jim's part to make it sound like a bit of a joke were ruined by the sadness in his eyes. Christopher kept quiet for a couple beats, carefully considering his answer.  
"You'll get assigned to another supervisor. I'll be back in time for this summer’s session anyway."  
"It won't be the same."  
Christopher sighed slightly but smiled to the boy. "I hope so."  
Jim watched him intensely and slowly put down his fork, searching his eyes for something.  
"Chris?"  
Christopher hesitated for a moment at the boy calling him like that and in the silence for a moment he let his gaze drop to the cadet’s lips before going back to look him in the eyes. He swallowed and slowly shook his head. "I'm too old for this." He murmured, not even sure if he was answering to something implied in the boy's tone or if he was reminding so to himself.  
But Jim shook imperceptibly his head, eyes fixed on the man in front of him. "No, you're not."  
"I am." He insisted even if sighing slightly at the thought of what could have been if only he had dared.  
Jim went back at denying with his head but instead of saying something after a moment he just leaned in across the table, looking at him in the eyes until they were too close and finally he softly pressed his lips to Christopher's mouth. They closed their eyes, deeply enjoying that contact between them, excited at feeling the other reciprocate what they had been dreaming about for too long.  
To the first kiss followed a second one, both reluctant to let the other pull away, and finally they parted their lips to deepen the kiss. Jim moved one hand to graze one of the man's cheeks with the tip of his fingers, almost as if fearing Christopher would disappear if he had asked for too much. But Christopher was far from a dream of his and actually he was decided to have everything he could now that he knew Jim could have been interested in him. The man placed one hand on the back of Jim's head, caressing the short hair and the nape of his neck while guiding him to deepen the kiss even more.  
They lost themselves like that, kissing and with not a thought to spare for dinner, the passing of time or even their positions in the academy, just clinging at the moment there and then.


End file.
